GREEN & WHITE BASKETBALL

5-star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. picks MSU

Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

La PORTE, Ind. – It’s easy to spot why major colleges around the country have chased Jaren Jackson Jr. The long frame, the massive wingspan, his versatility as a basketball player.

It’s just as quick with a short conversation off the court to understand why Tom Izzo wanted to bring the five-star recruit into his program.

Park Tudor Panthers Jaren Jackson Jr. (32) drives to the basket in the first half of their game Tuesday, Feb 23, 2016, evening at Park Tudor High School. The Park Tudor Panthers defeated the Lapel Bulldogs 67-41.

“You look at the big perspective, which is you want to be pushed. Your main goal is winning games and improving as a person and a player,” said Jackson, who announced on his 17th birthday Thursday morning that he will play for Izzo at Michigan State in 2017. “So all those things screamed Michigan State.”

Coming off his best incoming talent haul and a Hall of Fame induction, Izzo continued his recent recruiting run by landing the 6-foot-10, 255-pound Jackson, the son of former NBA player Jaren Jackson Sr. and Women’s National Basketball Players Association director of operations Terri Carmichael Jackson.

The younger Jackson is ranked No. 15 in the nation by Rivals.com, 26th by ESPN and 27th by both 247Sports.com and Scout.com. He’s heard comparisons to his play to both Chris Bosh and Anthony Davis as a stretch-4 who can handle the ball and defend a number of positions.

Jackson, a senior at La Lumiere School in La Porte, chose MSU over Purdue, Notre Dame, Maryland, and his parents’ alma mater Georgetown.

“He’s been raised incredibly well, so I think being able to look at things through a different lens and perspective helps him tremendously,” La Lumiere coach Shane Heirman said. “He’s as high a character kid as you’ll find. To get a guy like that who’s willing and eager to buy into coaching and the team and the community has been awesome.”

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Izzo sealed the deal by flying with his staff from his Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts to meet with Jackson, his family and coaches on Sunday at the prep school just across the southwest Michigan-Indiana border.

It didn’t take long that day for Jackson to commit. He said he knew last Thursday, after a lot of wavering, that he wanted to become a Spartan.

“I knew I was going to tell them, but they didn’t know I was going to say it. They were pretty shocked,” Jackson said. “I really didn’t even hear (Izzo). I was kind of just zoning out. When I told him, he was just so excited. He kind of cried a little bit. I was like, ‘Dang coach, I just saw you at the Hall of Fame and you’re going to cry like that?’

“It was just really funny to see someone of his caliber show actual emotion. I think that’s one of the reasons I committed there. His actual care for the players he has is very important for me.”

Jackson’s father was a journeyman with nine different NBA teams over parts of 12 seasons. His son was born in New Jersey, grew up in Virginia as a child, then went to grade school in Maryland before moving to Indianapolis and attending Park Tudor School.

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The younger Jackson transferred to La Lumiere over the summer after a strong junior season at Park Tudor, where he averaged 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks a game as a junior as he helped Park Tudor to the Indiana 3A semifinals last season. He won back-to-back 2A state titles in 2014 and ‘15.

“In the half-court set, Jackson will prosper in Izzo’s well-designed and executed plays package,” ESPN recruiting analyst Reggie Rankin wrote. “He will be terrific in pick and roll or pop actions.”

Jackson also spent about a month this summer with USA Basketball’s gold medal-winning entry in the FIBA U17 World Championships in Spain, where he averaged 4.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 14.3 minutes over six games.

That’s where, he said, he learned to shed his hubris and perform a role. It meant not shooting as much outside and focusing on the dirty work around the basket, including rebounding, shot-blocking and defense.

“In USA, you have to figure out a role. You have to be a star in your role,” Jackson said. “You realize that, at the next level, the people that can do a little bit of everything aren’t going to make it. You have to be great at certain things, work hard at certain things and do certain things to help the team win.”

Heirman said there are elements of versatility to Jackson’s game that remind him of both Denzel Valentine and Draymond Green. He feels Jackson can guard all five positions on the court on defense, while on offense Heirman sees a player who can isolate defenders and take them to the hoop off the dribble.

“Those hybrid positions, I don’t think anyone has done better with and utilized their versatility,” Heirman said. “And Jaren is as versatile a guy as there is in the country. He has continued to get more and more comfortable with perimeter skills, but he hasn’t gotten away from what he can do as a big.

“His upside is just incredible.”

The Spartans welcome in a talented four-player recruiting class this fall – Miles Bridges, Joshua Langford, Nick Ward and Cassius Winston – that is Izzo’s best and deepest ever. All four were ranked among ESPN’s top 40 incoming freshmen. Only Kentucky and Duke’s six-player classes were ranked higher collectively in 2016 than MSU’s.

MSU coaches cannot comment on recruits until they sign their National Letter of Intent. While Jackson is the Spartans’ first 2017 pledge, they did land a 2018 commitment in August from Macomb Dakota High big man Thomas Kithier. Izzo will lose five seniors at the end of the 2016-17 season: Alvin Ellis III, Eron Harris, Gavin Schilling, Ben Carter and Matt Van Dyk.

At La Lumiere, Jackson will be teammates this season with fellow 2017 MSU recruiting target Brian Bowen, a forward who transferred to La Lumiere from Saginaw Arthur Hill High last year, and 2019 point guard recruit Tyger Campbell.

Jackson said Izzo “knows what to do” as a recruiter, but he plans to tug at his new teammates to follow him to East Lansing.

“I’m going to do my part and try to help him out,” Jackson said.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.

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